FERNANDEZ CRUISES TO MOTO2 WIN, GARDNER P2

Raul Fernandez took a grimacing victory, just seven days after having metacarpal surgery, he romped home to take a commanding victory ahead of his Aussie teammate Remy Gardner.

The Moto2 rookie sensation Fernandez claimed yet another victory in 2021 closing the gap to Gardner in the championship, however with five rounds to go the Aussie still holds a 39-point lead in the championship.

Sam Lowes took pole from Gardner and Fernandez and things remained the same in the opening few corners before Fernandez made his way by late in the lap.

On lap 2 Fernandez closed in on the pole sitter and it did not take long for him to dispose of Lowes, making the move stick into Turn 1 on lap 4.

Fernandez immediately put his head down and was never headed, while Gardner was involved in a scrap early on to defend third.

He briefly fell behind Ai Ogura but recovered to retake third.

The damage had been done, by the end of lap 5 Gardner was nearly 2s behind the leading pair.

Out front Fernandez continued to churn out the fast laps and Lowes was struggling to remain with the leader.

On lap 10 the man who sits third in the championship Marco Bezzecchi lost the front end, taking a tumble at Turn 8, and almost certainly taking himself out of the title fight.

The relentless speed from Fernandez out front also forced the man following into an unforced error, Lowes crashing out of second position on lap 13.

This left Fernandez out front with a comfortable 6.3s lead over Gardner, who now led Jorge Navarro by two seconds.

Out front Fernandez cruised to a 5.4s victory over his KTM Ajo teammate Gardner.

Behind Navarro and the inform Marc VDS Racing Team rider Augusto Fernandez were locked in a tussle for the final step on the podium.

It was an intense battle, but in the end, it was Fernandez who came up trumps to claim his fourth podium in five races.

Navarro brought his bike home in fourth, his second straight top five finish. Aron Canet, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fermin Aldeguer, Ogura, Tony Arbolino and Simone Corsi rounded out the top 10.

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